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Mother: Reaching Out To Reach In

Photo from Cherise Fraser

Driven to find answers for her sons, Christopher, left, and Joshua, Cherise Fraser has become a community activist in autism awareness and education.

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By Klint  Lowry | The Suncoast News

Published: May 13, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. -- Like the saying goes; necessity is the mother of invention. Cherise Fraser is a mother who reinvented herself out of necessity into an expert on autism after both her sons were diagnosed with the condition.

"My guys were diagnosed very early on - I was very lucky - and I dived in with both feet," Fraser said.

She not only dove in, but as she has learned about the various versions of autism and searched for answers, she has shared what she has learned with the growing legion of parents in the community who face the same challenges, trying to get through the mental walls around their children so they can draw them out.

She started a support group for parents of autistic children to share information and experiences. At her church, Calvary Chapel Worship Center, she started a Sunday school for special-needs children, most of whom are autistic.

In 2006, the University of South Florida presented Fraser with its inaugural CARD Autism Community Leadership Award.

But even as autism continues to be a growing problem in America, Fraser's personal battle has become more serious, and it is time to take more dramatic steps.

To that end, Fraser will conduct an autism information evening and fundraiser 4 - 5:30 p.m. this Sunday, May 18. It will take place behind Calvary Chapel Worship Center, 4718 Voorhees Road.

The evening will include a video presentation on the Son-Rise Program, in which Fraser hopes to enroll so she can help her son, Christopher, and share with the community.

Fraser will also talk about her experiences over the past four years, since her older son, Joshua, was diagnosed at the age of 2½. He didn't want to be touched, talked to or even looked at. He constantly had to line up his toys, and they had to be just so.

"They told me he was 'trainably mentally handicapped,' which is lower than (an IQ of) 70, lower than Forrest Gump," Fraser said.

That same year, Christopher was born. At first, his development seemed better than average. He was rolling over before he was 2 weeks old, forming words at 5 months and reciting nursery rhymes when he was a year old. But then at 14 months, he receded into his own little silent world.

It's a familiar story to an alarmingly increasing number of families. According to U.S. Department of Education figures reported by the National Autism Association, there were more than 10 times as many school children with autism in the 2003-04 school year as there were in 1992. Among children born today, one in 150 is diagnosed with some form of autistic spectrum disorder, and the rate continues to climb while experts argue over the cause.

For Joshua and Christopher, she has used dietary measures; drug, cognitive and occupational therapy; and the Son-Rise Program, designed by the Autism Treatment Center of America in Sheffield, Mass.

The Son-Rise program, Fraser explained, is based on the idea that autistic children are comfortable in their private worlds. The best way to reach them, Son-Rise teaches, is to show patience and acceptance of whatever it is they do to create their personal comfort zones.

"It's centered around a playroom," Fraser said.

Unlike most playrooms, this kind is intentionally kept spare, no decorations on the walls, as little as possible to clutter the senses.

Fraser did not actually enroll in the program, and didn't have the space to dedicate to a playroom, but employed the principles. Between that and all the other tactics she's taken, Joshua is back in mainstream classes, talking, writing. His latest test scores put him above the national average.

Christopher was improving, too, but lately, he has further regressed.

"Now I'm pulling out all the stops," Fraser said. "I lost him once before. I'm not going to lose him again."

A friend has offered to let Fraser build a playroom at their house, and this time, Fraser wants to go to Massachusetts and enroll in the course. The catch is the she figures the tuition and the playroom will cost about $17,000. Her vision is to eventually get a trailer or RV and turn it into a mobile playroom for autistic children throughout the community.

Fraser will accept donations the Autism Information Evening, which will be the first of several fundraisers she plans to have.

One person said to me, 'that's the price of a car,'" she said. "That's minimal for the price of a life."

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